


Always, Forever

by RemyJane



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Established Relationship, M/M, lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-03 19:32:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19470661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RemyJane/pseuds/RemyJane
Summary: Alex knew, sort of. He vaguely recalled Nicky mentioning it, but they’d both been pretty drunk. Nicky had been lying on the floor with his arms spread out, like he was afraid to lose his balance even horizontal. Alex has been on the couch, trying to stop laughing long enough to listen.So, Alex knew, but he really should’ve been given more information.————Nicky turns into a toddler and Alex takes care of him, mostly.





	Always, Forever

Alex didn’t know. 

Well, that wasn’t quite true. 

Alex knew, sort of. He vaguely recalled Nicky mentioning it, but they’d both been pretty drunk. Nicky had been lying on the floor with his arms spread out, like he was afraid to lose his balance even horizontal. Alex has been on the couch, trying to stop laughing long enough to listen. 

So, Alex knew, but he really should’ve been given more information. 

Waking up after a seemingly great night, after Nicky had scored a hat trick and they’d drank like kings, was not the best time to try to recall a hazy memory. Particularly when he was confronted with a child, a toddler, instead of his partner. 

He should’ve been suspicious when he woke up and had all his blankets, honestly. 

All that to say: Nicklas Backstrom apparently turned into a toddler and Alex should’ve asked follow-up questions, but it was too late for that. 

He closed his eyes for a long blink, hoping...hoping he’d imagined it somehow, though it seemed beyond the realm of his imagination. When he opened his eyes, there was still a blond tot curled up beside him, snuggling the blankets. 

Alex sighed, close enough that he ruffled a rogue curl. “You got hat trick, what you stressed for?” He asked, frowning. ‘Why didn’t you talk to me?’, he wanted to ask. But that seemed like a moot point now. 

Nicky whined, opening his eyes and blinking at Alex thickly. He stuck his thumb in his mouth and fell back to sleep. 

It was impossible to be mad at someone who looked so cute, which was irritating in and of itself. 

Alex decided to take a shower while he had the chance; Nicky was not, and would never be, a morning person. Afterwards, he took some Advil to dull his headache and got dressed. Nicky was still asleep when he opened the bathroom door. Alex wondered if he should wake him. 

He sat on the edge of the bed and couldn’t help but reach out and gently poke one plump cheek. Nicky blinked, squinting at him. 

Everything Alex knew about age regressions was from bad Russian daytime TV. He knew it was usually related to stress, he knew Nicky would eventually turn back. He didn’t know how much Nicky would remember or understand. 

Nicky probably had stuff in the house. “You have any little clothes here?” He asked, suspicious. He hadn’t noticed anything like that when they moved in together, but Nicky was sneaky. Plus, Nicky was the kind of person who planned ahead. 

Nicky frowned at him, rubbing at his eyes. 

Alex searched the house. He searched closets, he searched the garage. He found a Christmas present he’d meant to send to his parents, he found boxes of old video games. He found two screwdrivers that he’d thought he’d lost and finally, in the attic, he found a car seat. There was a bag tucked in under the straps. 

Baby Nicky was sitting at the foot of the ladder, sucking on his fingers and watching Alex with mild curiosity. 

“Ok. Found your stuff. You happy?” Alex asked, wiping his forehead dry. 

“No.” Nicky said, shaking his head. 

Alex sighed. “You hungry? It’s breakfast time.” 

“No.” Nicky shook his head again. 

“You know other words?” Alex asked, exasperated. Nicky, even as a babe, didn’t fall for the bait. He stayed quiet, looking up at Alex with wide eyes. “Ok. I’m going downstairs.” He decided. 

In retrospect, Alex should’ve just carried him. He just...he was tired and he still had a headache. Nicky didn’t usually need to be carried on the stairs; Nicky didn’t usually need anything. 

Panic shot through Alex when he heard a thump and then a cry. He ran in from the kitchen, finding Nicky at the bottom of the stairs, tangled up in his shirt but mostly unharmed. 

Alex picked him up, rocking him. “I’m sorry.” He murmured, feeling guilty. “You need more help like this, huh?” 

Nicky hiccuped, hiding his face against Alex’s shoulder, little fingers clutching at his shirt. Alex kissed the side of his head. “I’m sorry.” He repeated softly. 

He carried him back into the kitchen. He tried to set Nicky down but he clung tightly to him. “Ok. I hold you. We make coffee now.” 

Alex had a banana, oatmeal, and some toast. He shared a few bites of everything with Nicky. Afterwards, it was easy enough to wipe his hands clean and set him down, fall already forgotten. 

Next, he opened the bag. There was a note slipped inside the bag, the first thing Alex saw when he unzipped it. 

‘Don’t lose me. -Nicky’. Alex chuckled and shoved the note in his pocket, emptying the contents of the bag onto the counter to take inventory. 

A stuffed bunny fell onto the floor and Nicky grabbed it and clutched it to his chest.

Alex grinned at him. “What’s that?”

“Bunny.” Nicky said, looking up at him curiously. “See?” He held out the worn rabbit; it looked well-loved, the fur threadbare in places and the nose replaced by a red button. 

“Can I-?” Alex reached to take it. 

“No, mine.” Nicky wrapped it protectively in his arms. 

Alex chuckled. “Ok, ok. Sorry.” 

The rest of the bag was rather ordinary, with a small array of baby clothes and other necessities, though no Ovechkin jersey, Alex was sad to find. Still, Nicky looked adorable in sweatpants and a gray shirt decorated in dinosaurs. 

By the time Alex got Nicky dressed and managed to secure the car seat in his car, it was time to go to practice. 

Nicky was cooperative, sitting still while Alex buckled him into the seat. He hummed to himself as they drove, bouncing his little bunny up and down. Alex watched him in the rear view mirror, aching at the cuteness of it. 

He took a short video at a stoplight but Nicky stopped when he realized he was being recorded. He leveled a serious expression at Alex, the Russian smothering a laugh. 

“You’re not so different, even if you’re little.” He teased. 

Nicky squirmed when Alex tried to carry him but obediently held Alex’s hand in the parking lot, his bunny tucked under his other arm. He walked well and Alex guessed he looked about two? He wasn’t sure; he’d ask one of the guys with kids to estimate. 

They were the first ones in the locker room, which was probably good because Nicky looked wary of the big open space. 

“Gonna skate.” He explained. 

His face brightened. “I skate?” 

“We can go play.” Alex agreed. “Gotta change first, ok?” 

Nicky nodded, walking along the benches and bouncing his bunny as he went. Alex was half-changed when the door opened and Nicky froze. 

It was TJ. “Hey there. Look at you.” He smiled warmly. “Is he your nephew or something?” He asked Alex. 

“It’s Nicky.” 

TJ looked stunned. “No way, seriously? I’ve only known Russians- oh man, did you know?”

Alex shook his head. “He told me once but...didn’t think it would actually happen.” He admitted. 

TJ nodded. “Yeah. Wow. Well, if you need any help, let us know. He looks maybe a bit younger than Lyla, so I’m sure they’d have fun.” TJ squatted down to talk to Nicky. “You having fun, Nicky?”

“No.”

TJ laughed and Alex shook his head. “It’s his favorite word.” He explained. 

“That’s awesome.” TJ said. “I like your dinosaurs, buddy. Do you like the green ones or the blue ones?”

Nicky tugged on his shirt to better see the dinosaurs in question, making a thoughtful face. “Hmmmmm….Bwue.” 

“Good choice.” Alex grinned. 

Nicky looked over his shoulder at Alex and then clambered up into his lap, hugging Bunny and sucking on his thumb. 

“He’s adorable.” TJ said, looking amused. “100% less scary than normal.”

Alex set Nicky down and he tentatively walked closer to TJ, finally approaching when TJ held out his helmet to show him. 

Nicky giggled when it was set on top of his head, the helmet tipping forward. TJ snapped a picture of him, grinning broadly. 

Andre, Tom, and Evgeny entered the locker room together, talking and laughing loudly. Nicky tried to hide behind TJ’s legs, the helmet falling to the ground. TJ settled a hand across his back, patting it gently. “Guys, keep it down.” He said easily. 

Andre’s mouth fell open when he saw Nicky. “Hey there, who are you?” He asked, lowering his voice. 

Nicky pressed his face into TJs thigh, shaking his head. Laughter rumbled in Alex’s chest. “Nicky so shy now.” 

Andre froze. “This is Nicky?” Tom and Evgeny were watching in stunned silence, their gear half-unpacked and forgotten. TJ nodded. “Hey, Nicky…” Andre trailed off into gentle Swedish. 

Nicky lifted his face to watch him, thumb stuck in his mouth. He took a tentative step forward. Andre said something else and Nicky broke into a dimpled smile, giggling. 

“Papa is so little!” Tom said, clearly delighted. “C’mere Nicky.”

Nicky took a half step back. “No.” He shook his head, hiding his face behind his bunny and peering out over his ears. Evgeny and Andre laughed, though Tom looked a bit disappointed. 

As the rest of the team started to arrive, Nicky crowded close to Alex’s feet. “Up?” He asked. “Up?”

Alex picked him up, rubbing his back as the toddler hid his face against his shoulder, his bunny securely pressed against his chest. “Oh, my sweet Nicky…” Alex kissed his head. “We go skate, just a little, ok?” He said, already heading to the ice.

Nicky laughed joyously when Alex picked up speed, the wind whipping his hair. Alex didn’t go nearly as fast as he could, but enough to elicit a happy shriek from the blond. After another couple laps, he saw Trotz watching from the bench, amused. 

He slowed to a stop in front of him.

“Hey, Nicky.” Trotz greeted. “Do you want to watch Ovi play with me?” 

“No.” Nicky shook his head, pressing his face into Alex’s jersey. 

Alex sighed. “Is his favorite word.” He explained. Then, to Nicky. “I have to skate, but you can watch, ok?” 

“No.” Alex ignored him and tried to hand him over, but Nicky’s eyes welled up as soon as Alex let go. “Sasha, no?” He whined. 

Alex’s heart clenched. Nicky hadn’t heard him called that since he changed, which meant that somewhere deep in his mind, he knew Alex. It struck him like an arrow between the ribs, sharp and breathtaking. Trotz kept his expression schooled to one of nonchalance. 

“Ovi has to practice. Do you want to help?” He asked. Nicky nodded slowly, thumb in his mouth. “Good. Here, you can use this.” He looped a whistle around Nicky’s neck. “Here, blow.” He said, holding it up. 

Nicky grinned when it made a noise and then blew harder, laughing at the shrill whistle and the way Trotz couldn’t hide a wince. “Atta boy.” The coach said, ruffling his hair. 

Nicky watched practice from Trotz’s arms, attentively tracking Alex’s movements. Alex couldn’t hear him, but he looked up a few times to see Nicky pointing at him. Once, he waved and Nicky made Bunny wave back. 

Afterwards, the coach made sure to quickly return Nicky to Alex, the little blond trying desperately to escape his grasp and go play on the ice. “We’ll say he’s day-to-day with a lower body injury. Everyone will think he tweaked something.” Barry explained. “He did get hit pretty hard last game.”

Alex nodded. “Thank you.” 

“Oh, and he kept telling you to go faster.” Barry added, laughing. 

Alex grinned. “Same Nicky.” 

Several players lingered on the ice to play with Nicky, passing pucks and letting him score. Alex bumped TJs shoulder. “I go shower, you watch him a few more minutes?” He asked. 

“Sure, no problem.” TJ said. “Hey, Nicky, try like this.” He said, flipping the puck up in the air towards the net. Alex stepped away as Nicky focused on copying TJ, tongue sticking out in concentration. 

When Alex has showered and dressed, he wandered back out to the rink to watch. Nicky grinned when he saw him, waving. “Hi Sasha!” 

Alex felt himself melting a bit. “Hi Nicky.” 

Nicky cocked his head, looking at him. “Pway?” He asked. As though Alex could possibly say no. 

Half an hour later, Nicky tripped over his own feet and collapsed to the ice crying. Alex’s heart started to race, worried something was wrong or he’d hurt himself or-

“Aww, someone’s tired.” TJ cooed, scooping him up. “You ready to nap, buddy?”

“No.” Nicky whimpered, even as he looped an arm around TJ’s neck. 

He chuckled. “Of course not.” He rubbed his back. 

“Is he hurt?” Alex asked when TJ stopped in front of him, shifting back and forth on his skates. 

“I think he’s just tired.” TJ assured him. “You hurt?” He asked Nicky. 

“No.” 

Alex frowned. “Nicky, you have to answer. What’s wrong?” 

“No.” Nicky shook his head, tearful and turning red. 

“Do you need a bandaid?” TJ asked. Nicky paused, considering the offer. “Show Ovi where you need a bandaid.” 

He pointed to his elbow, which looked perfectly fine. “He’s ok.” TJ declared. “You want Ovi to hold you?”

Wordlessly, Nicky nodded. Alex accepted him, smiling as Nicky wrapped his arms around him and sniffled. 

“You’re a cute baby.” Alex whispered, kissing his head. 

“Not a baby.” He grumbled. 

Alex stifled a laugh. “Right. You’re so big.”

Toddlers didn’t really have a sense for sarcasm, so Nicky just nodded in agreement. 

In the locker room, Nicky plopped down on the floor and cried, rubbing at his eyes and looking so pitiful Alex was momentarily at a loss. 

“He needs a nap.” TJ said again. “Seriously, Lyla still takes an afternoon nap and she starts to fall apart if she doesn’t get it.”

“He’s just tired? Not sick?”

“Pretty sure.” TJ nodded. “Do you have a diaper bag?” 

Alex pointed and TJ opened it, fishing through the pockets until he pulled out a pacifier. 

“Here, try this.” He said. 

“Isn’t he too old?” Alex asked. He was starting to worry about how little he knew about kids; he’d only held other people’s babies, he didn’t know anything about caring for a toddler. 

TJ gave him a long suffering look and held the pacifier out further, encouraging him to take it. 

“Nicky, c’mere.” Alex said softly. 

Nicky shook his head, burying his face against bunny and crying harder. 

Alex reached out and picked him up, cradling him in his arms. “Ok, ok, shhh. It’s ok.” He murmured. “Here.” 

Nicky took the paci and his eyes fluttered shut almost immediately, the tension draining out of his little body as he fell asleep. 

TJ squeezed Alex’s arm, grinning. “Little kids sleep a lot but they don’t really want to.” He advised. “I’ll help you to the car.” 

Alex managed to get Nicky home and inside without waking him. He sat on the couch, turning the TV on quietly and enjoying the satisfaction of holding a sleeping babe. 

While Nicky napped, Alex fielded texts from their teammates. Marcus and Andre both offered to translate for him and Tom and Evgeny just wanted to see him. 

Selfishly, Alex didn’t really want to share, but he figured he could use reinforcements. He told them they could come over if they brought dinner. 

When Nicky woke up, he reached up slowly and poked Sasha’s cheek. Alex pretended to bite his finger and Nicky giggled, pulling his hand back. 

“You remember being big?” Alex asked; he’d done some hasty googling in between texting his teammates, but there was a lot people didn’t know about age regressions. He’d learned that it was genetic and that the average regression time was about 6 days. 

“No.”

“You worried about something?”

“No.”

Alex tickled him. “You want food?”

“No!” Nicky laughed, squirming. 

“No?!” Alex gasped, pretending to be surprised. Nicky beamed at him brightly. 

Nicky played with his bunny until the doorbell rang and he gave Alex a worried look. “Just friends.” Alex explained. 

“Fends?” Nicky repeated, aflush with skepticism. 

“Friends.” Alex repeated. He picked him up and took him to answer the door. 

Andre, Tom, Marcus, and Evgeny were all on the doorstep, holding bags of McDonald’s. 

“We got a kids meal.” Tom said, as though that was helpful. Nicky looked intrigued. 

They set everything on the table and Alex quickly realized he didn’t have anything for Nicky to sit on to be tall enough. 

“You wanna sit with me?” Tom asked. 

“No.” Nicky shook his head. He sat in Marcus’ lap instead, peeling the breading off his chicken nuggets and refusing to eat it. 

Marcus looked somewhere between appalled and bemused at the growing pile of chicken breedings in front of him. 

“Fries?” Marcus offered, maybe as a distraction from the way he was eating the chicken. 

Nicky was interested in fries in that they were a means of conveying ketchup to his mouth. Andre looked horrified. “Are you sure it’s Nicky?”

Alex snorted. “You didn’t know him when he was rookie.” Though Nicky had mostly outgrown his pickiness, ketchup was something he loved but never let himself eat anymore. 

“You wanna try a bite of burger?” Marcus offered. 

Nicky wrinkled his nose. “No. Gwoss.”

“Gross?!” Marcus laughed. “It’s tasty.” 

“No.”

Marcus rolled his eyes, saying something in Swedish that sounded like gentle chastisement. Nicky frowned, kicking his feet under the table. 

“He’s coming on the road trip, right?” Tom asked. 

In the chaos of suddenly having to deal with a toddler, Alex had almost forgotten; luckily they had already packed. “Yeah, guess he has to.” He said. “Can’t leave him home.” And even if he did, Nicky would be livid if he changed back and missed a game. 

Nicky looked up, looking concerned. “No leave?” He asked. 

Marcus smoothed his hair down. “Sasha’ll never leave you.” He murmured. 

Nicky nodded and turned his attention back to the plastic toy from the happy meal. 

Afterwards, Andre and Tom played with Nicky in the yard. Alex sidled up alongside Marcus to watch. “He tell you what he’s so stressed about?” Alex asked. 

“Not exactly.” Marcus admitted softly, falling quiet instead of elaborating. 

Alex nodded. “Not gonna say?”

“I don’t really know. He doesn’t come out and say, you know.” Alex knew; Alex was intimately familiar with Nicklas Backstrom’s particularly blend of reservation and stubbornness. 

“I know, just...thought it was a good night. Hat trick, went out, danced, came home...you know. Good night.” Alex said, glossing over more personal details. 

Marcus snorted. “Yeah. I don’t know.” 

“Thought he was happy.” Alex was feeling like he’d let Nicky down, like he didn’t know him well enough. He must’ve been missing something big, if Nicky had an age regression. 

“He’s really happy.” Marcus assured him. “He just...he gets in his own head.” 

“About what?”

“I don’t really know.” Alex sighed heavily. “I don’t! If I was guessing...I’d guess maybe he’s thinking about the future but...I honestly don’t know.”

That was better than nothing. They’d been skirting around that topic for years, not quite addressing anything outside of the immediate future. Alex knew Nicky wanted more, wanted something concrete, but he wasn’t sure how they could do that in secrecy. 

“Thanks.”

Marcus grinned. “Yeah. He’s- I wouldn’t worry about him being happy. He’s happy.” 

Alex smiled, feeling reassured. “That’s- Good. Good.” 

The airport with a toddler was less than ideal; particularly with a toddler like Nicky, who was not as well-behaved as Alex would’ve guessed. 

Admittedly, he’d woken him up early and Nicklas was notoriously bad with mornings as an adult. He’d been whining in the car and had thrown his breakfast the floor. Alex was already feeling like it had been a long day.

“Down?” Nicky asked, trying to wriggle free. “Sasha, down?”

“No, we have to walk.” They were crossing the tarmac to the plane, there were trucks and shuttles driving nearby, and Alex did not trust this incarnation of Nicky, not even slightly. 

“I walk.” He wriggled more, trying as hard as he could to escape. “Saaaaashaaaaaa….”

Alex sighed. “We have to go far. Your legs are too short.”

“Not short.” Nicky protested. “Sasha….”

“In a minute.” 

Nicky went suddenly limp, trying to skip through his grasp, and Alex nearly dropped him. Fortunately, Tom was close by and he took Nicky while Alex rejuggled their bags. 

“Whatcha doing, Nick?” Tom asked. 

Nicky looked like he might cry. “Down!”

“Upside down?” Tom guessed, winking at Alex. He turned Nicky upside over his shoulder, grinning as the blond started to laugh. 

“Nooo-oooooooo.” He protested, though he was smiling. 

He stopped smiling when they finally reached the plane. “No.” He shook his head. 

“It’s just the plane.” Tom said. 

Nicky’s lip wobbled. “No.” He shook his head. “Scawy.”

“It’s ok. It’s just the plane.” 

Nicky sniffled and shook his head, hiding his face against Bunny. Once Alex had dropped off their gear, he took Nicky back; this time, the babe was eager to stay in his arms. 

Nicky pressed his face against Alex’s chest, shutting his eyes tight. “Don’ wike it.” He whispered. 

“It’s ok.” Alex rocked him side to side. “We do this all the time, when you’re big.” 

Nicky sniffled but didn’t respond. Alex wasn’t sure how this worked, wasn’t sure if Nicky remembered being big. But he did remember Alex, so maybe he did. 

Once onboard, the plane was less scary, at least until it started to move. 

Nicky climbed into Alex’s lap, covering his ears. Andre was watching from the other side of the aisle. “Is he ok?”

“Planes are loud.” Alex explained. 

“Poor baby.” Andre said sympathetically. 

Nicky didn’t even bother correcting him. With one hand, Alex found the pacifier in the diaper bag and gave it to Nicky. It helped with take-off, and Alex was proud of himself for that. 

Once they reached their cruising altitude Nicky started to relax a bit. He ventured out of Alex’s lap and went up and down the aisle, much to the delight of their teammates.

By the time they landed (which was even scarier than take-off, for the toddler) and made it to the hotel, any good mood Nicky’d had was gone; Alex wasn’t sure how people regularly traveled with kids. 

“We can get your bags.” Marcus offered, gesturing to Evgeny as well. 

In Alex’s arms, Nicky was whining quietly and looked moments from falling asleep, if he would just stop getting jostled. “Thank you.” Alex said appreciatively. 

The elevator was interesting, to a toddler at least, and Nicky tried to push some of the buttons. Alex stepped away from it and the toddler tried to stretch to reach them. 

“Sasha! Sasha, buttons.” He whined plaintively. 

Alex glanced to the side to see Marcus biting his lip trying not to smile. “Those are for big people.” Alex said. 

“Sasha…” Nicky protested, trying even harder to break free of his hold. 

Alex put him down and, realizing he was in fact too short to reach the buttons, Nicky proceeded to flop down on the floor and cry. 

Evgeny patted Alex’s shoulder. “You sure it’s Nicky?”

“He looks like Nicky.” Marcus pointed out, carefully stepping over his prostrate form to exit the elevator. 

“Doesn’t act like him.” Evgeny countered. 

Nicky was limp when Alex picked him up. “Definitely Nicky.” He assured them; Nicky at any age wanted to be independent and left to his own devices. Also, he always got cranky when he was tired. 

Without any distractions, Nicky went down for his nap easily, snuggled up with a blanket and his bunny in Alex’s arms. Alex played on his phone while he slept for about an hour. 

“S’sha?” Nicky mumbled when he woke up, his cheek smooshed against Alex’s chest. 

“Yeah?” Alex rubbed his back. 

“Love ‘ou.” 

Alex kissed the top of his head. “Love you too.” He promised. “Love you always.” 

Just like when he was big, Nicky was an entirely different person after his nap. He was smiling and giggling at dinner, looking pleased to have a booster seat from the hotel restaurant to use. He made faces at Andre and then laughed delightedly when Andre made faces back. It was enough to make Alex forget the elevator meltdown. 

He only ate cooked carrots and bread for dinner for some reason, but Alex was just happy he ate; he only had to survive a few days, not actually raise him. 

The guys seated around him tried to offer him other food, but Nicky refused until TJ returned to the table with a cupcake. 

“You want some?” He asked, lowering his voice like it was a secret. Alex watched Nicky nod, eyes wide and awed by the dessert in front of him. “Ok. Well, I guess I can share.”

“Tank ‘ou.” Nicky said. 

TJ cut the cupcake in two and gave one half to Nicky. Alex realized he was not the only one watching; probably half the team was keeping an eye on this development. 

Nicky ended up with icing from ear to ear, grinning happily. He even licked his fingers clean. 

“Does he have to change back?” Brooks Orpik asked. “Because this is pretty cute.” 

“Ovi needs him for assists.” Tom teased. 

“True.” Brooks said, tipping his head. Alex didn’t argue that. 

TJ wet a napkin with some water and deftly cleaned the chocolate off Nicky’s face almost before he could protest. 

“Teej…” he whined, scrubbing at his wet face with his sleeve. “Noooo….”

TJ laughed. “Sorry. I won’t do it again.” He grinned. 

Nicky sighed, seemingly realizing he was being pandered to, and hugged Bunny to his chest. “Sasha, sim?”

“Sim?” Alex asked, furrowing his brow. 

“Ja, sim. Pease?” 

Alex glanced at Andre and Marcus, but they both only shrugged. No help at all these Swedes, Alex thought. “I don’t know what you’re saying. I’m sorry.” 

“Sim wit fishies?” Nicky asked, looking hopeful. 

“Swim?” Alex guessed. 

“Ja, sim.” 

“Fish?” Andre asked, looking confused. “What?”

“There’s a fountain, in the lobby.” Tom offered. “I think it has, like, goldfish in it.” 

There was; Alex wasn’t sure how Nicky had noticed and remembered that when he’d been on the verge of melting down when they’d gotten to the hotel, but apparently he was more observant than Alex gave him credit for. 

“Can’t swim, but we can go see fish.” Alex offered. 

Alex, Nicky, and a string of teammates wandered out to the lobby to look at the fountain, which did indeed have fish in the pool.

Nicky watched them for a while, until he was yawning and rubbing his eyes. Andre picked him up and looked like his heart was going to explode when Nicky wrapped his arms around his neck and snuggled in. 

“Burkie’s never giving him back now.” Tom laughed. 

Andre rocked Nicky side to side, talking to him in gentle, singsong Swedish; probably nursery rhymes, Alex decided. 

“Needs to go to sleep before he gets too cranky.” Alex decided. He was trying to learn his lessons, and overtired toddlers were monsters. Slightly sleepy toddlers were fucking adorable though, Alex thought, watching Nicky yawn again and rest his head on Andre’s shoulder. 

Andre carried him upstairs, but Alex made everyone leave so the room was quiet. Nicky fell asleep easily and Alex felt like he’d cracked an unsolvable cypher. 

Game days were actually not all that bad for a toddler’s schedule, at least initially. They had breakfast, went to morning skate where Nicky got to play on the ice afterwards, had lunch, and then took a nap at a reasonable time. 

Nicky was relatively easy to take care of when he wasn’t exhausted, and Alex was feeling guilty for not figuring that out earlier. He was still picky and stubborn, but Alex could live with that; Alex had been living with that for quite some time, actually. 

Before the game, instead of playing their usual keep-up game, they played with Nicky. It was bizarre to see a version of Nicklas Backstrom that couldn’t quite coordinate his feet. Alex was accustomed to Nicky being good at most athletic pursuits, so watching him topple over after missing the ball was something special. 

“Please say someone was recording that.” Tom laughed. “That was priceless.”

“I got it.” Evgeny held up his phone. 

“Nicky might murder you when he gets big again.” Marcus warned, scooping Nicky up. “Isn’t that right?”

“No.” Nicky said, kicking his feet and trying to get down. “Jojo…down!” 

Marcus set him down and ruffled his hair, which earned him a scowl. 

Before warm-up, Alex took Nicky to the trainers. He was skeptical looking, clinging to Alex. 

“No.” He shook his head. “Sasha, no.” 

“You stay here, watch me on TV, ok?” He said. 

Nicky shook his head tearfully. “Sasha, no.” He pleaded. 

Alex kissed his forehead. “Need you to stay here and watch me so I can score for you, ok?”

Nicky looked to be considering it. “Puck?” He asked. 

“I bring you a puck.” He promised. 

Alex told the boys they had to score for Nicky; a little extra motivation never hurt. 

They won and Alex did manage a goal, an empty netter in the third, but it still counted all the same. He opened the door to the medical area and could hear the sound of heartbreaking, overtired crying from there. 

“Oh, thank god.” The trainer said as he walked in. “Here.” He handed over the flushed and tear streaked toddler. 

“What happened?” Alex asked, rocking Nicky in his arms. The tiny blond latched onto him like he’d been drowning and Alex was a life preserver, despite the fact that all Alex had done was take off his skates and his jersey was soaked with sweat. 

“Tired, I guess, but I can’t get him to sleep.” The trainer shrugged. “Missed you, a lot.” He added, with emphasis. 

Alex nodded and kissed Nicky’s temple. “You ok, Nicky?” He murmured. 

Nicky didn’t answer, but each quivering breath certainly meant no. 

The boys quieted down when he returned to the locker room. “What happened?” Andre asked. 

“Is he ok?” Marcus said. 

“Did he get hurt?” 

“What’s wrong?”

“Aww, poor baby.” TJ said. “That was a long time, huh?” 

Nicky nodded, hands tightening in Alex’s jersey. 

“Up too late, gets cranky.” Alex said, even though cranky didn’t feel like a fair description. Nicky was needy and sad and probably tumultuous, but he was having a rough time. Alex kissed his head again. 

“I can take him so you can shower.” TJ offered. 

Nicky made a truly pitiful sound when Alex had to let go of him, but TJ managed to get him calmed down quickly enough. 

When Alex came back, TJ was still sitting on the bench, though most of the team was already out on the bus. A few lingered, keeping TJ company, keeping an eye on Nicky. 

Nicky was mostly obscured by a blanket that was draped across him and TJ, tucked in behind his shoulder. 

“I do this with Lyla when we’re out of the house. I think it helps get her to sleep when she can’t watch everything.” TJ explained. “Poor lil guy’s exhausted.” Nicky had one hand wrapped around TJ’s fingers, with Bunny held close to his chest with the other. The paci had half-fallen from his mouth. 

“Thank you.” 

“No problem.” TJ smiled warmly. 

Alex dressed and then oh-so-carefully carried Nicky out to the bus. He slept the whole ride, looking like a little angel in Alex’s arms (even though Alex knew he very much wasn’t). 

At the hotel, Nicky woke up enough to decide he didn’t want to be carried. He stopped to see the fish in the lobby and then lost his mind when he couldn’t pet one. He hadn’t been able to pet them before, either, but now it was apparently deeply upsetting. 

“You sleep, you’ll feel better.” Alex assured him. 

“No.” Nicky crossed his chubby arms. 

“You wanna go to our room with me?” He offered. “We can watch hockey?” 

“No!” 

“Well, we have to go to bed. C’mon, Nicky, let’s go.”

“No! No, no, no! Fishies!” 

“Ok. I’m going. You can stay with fishies.” Alex decided, turning to walk away. 

“Sasha?” Nicky hurried after him, tripping over the edge of the rug and crumpling to the ground; Alex wasn’t even six feet away yet, barely more than a couple steps. 

Nicky sobbed into the carpet and Alex felt bad for both of them as he picked him up, brushing his hands and face clean. 

Nicky was beyond consolable in the elevator, hating being carried and not wanting to be left behind. 

Marcus followed him back to their room. “You look like you need help.” He said, smiling mildly. 

“Maybe earplugs.” He said, adjusting the limp toddler in his arms. “Nicky, shhh. People are sleeping.”

“No!” 

“This is why you don’t have little brother.” Alex muttered, which made Marcus laugh. 

Inside their room, Alex managed to calm him down by offering him a juice box and Nicky passed out with it still in hand. 

“He’s...different than I thought he’d be.” Marcus said slowly. 

Alex shrugged. “Always picky, always stubborn. Can’t talk so good, gets frustrated.” He brushed Nicky’s hair back from his forehead. “Needs his sleep.”

“True. He does get pretty cranky when he’s tired.” Marcus admitted. “I guess I thought he’d be a good baby.”

Alex thought that was a little unfair, though he’d had the same uncharitable thoughts. 

The next day, Nicky was cheerful and sweet again. They were traveling and Alex managed to get him to nap on the plane using TJ’s blanket trick. 

Nicky had been a bit resistant at first but Alex let him watch videos on his phone. The blond was fast asleep in less than 10 minutes. 

When he woke up, he squirmed free of Alex’s grasp, draping the baby blanket over his shoulders like a cape. 

“Sleep good?” Alex asked. Nicky stuck his thumb in his mouth instead of answering, so Alex assumed the answer wasn’t ‘no’. “I have Cheerios.” 

Nicky looked interested. “Sheewios?” 

“You want some?” 

“Hmm...yeah.” He chirped, smiling. 

They shared the small box of Cheerios and Nicky giggled when Alex pretended to hold them up and look through them at him. 

“You’re so cute.” Alex said, poking his belly. 

Nicky frowned at that. “No.”

“No? You’re not cute?”

“No.”

“Well, what are you?” Alex asked. 

Nicky looked thoughtful. “Big.” 

Alex laughed. “You can be cute and big.” He assured him. “Usually you’re big and still cute.” He added. 

Nicky shook his head, taking another bite of cereal. 

After they landed, they went to the rink. It was optional, and it mostly turned into everyone trying to make Nicky laugh; when he laughed really hard he’d lose his balance and plop down on his behind. 

Nicky spent the team dinner going from teammate to teammate, though he mostly stuck to Andre and Marcus. And TJ, because TJ had carrots on his plate and gave one to Nicky every time he came over. Alex wasn’t sure if brown butter glazed carrots really counted as a health food, but it was sustenance. 

Nicky just had to not starve, and hopefully get a nap in daily, and he would be in good shape. 

When Nicky started to rub his eyes, he circled back around to Alex, climbing up into his lap of his own volition. 

“Hey there.” 

“Hey dere.” Nicky repeated sleepily. Alex kissed his forehead to hide the sappy look of fondness he couldn’t help but make. 

“You like the carrots?”

“No.” 

“So you don’t want any of mine?” Alex offered; he had a couple left. 

Nicky tilted his head. “M’ybe.” He said slowly. “Pease?”

“Here.” Alex speared it on his fork and Nicky instead grabbed it with his hands, shoving it into his mouth whole. “Have to chew.” Alex reminded him. 

Of course, with a mouth full of carrot, Nicky finally couldn’t say ‘no.’ 

After dinner about half the team went out. Alex considered it, but that would mean leaving Nicky with someone else and-

He trusted his team, his boys, but...even if he left he’d spend all night thinking about Nicky anyway. It was easier to extend an invitation for anyone to come hang out in their room and then take Nicky upstairs. 

Evgeny joined him, and then Marcus. By the time they arrived, Nicky was dressed in footie pajamas that were dark blue and decorated with frogs. He looked less than amused when they both cooed over how cute he looked. 

“Your fault, you picked this out.” Alex reminded him, though he was sure Nicky didn’t understand. However age regressions worked, this wasn’t Nicky trapped in the body of a toddler; this was Nicky’s brain at age two. 

Nicky hugged Bunny in his arms and looked at their visitors skeptically. His stern expression, already lacking because of the chubby cheeks, was further ruined when he yawned and stretched. 

“You want to sit in my lap?” Marcus offered, patting his thighs. Marcus was sitting on the other bed while Evgeny hooked up the Xbox. 

“No.” Nicky shook his head. “What’s dat?” He asked, pointing to his glass. 

“Rum and coke.” Marcus answered. 

Nicky thought for a moment. “Soda?” He guessed. Alex couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Tastes bad.” He assured him. 

“Soda, pease?” Nicky asked pleadingly. 

Marcus let Nicky have a sip and the blond’s whole face scrunched up and he sputtered and coughed. 

“Little strong.” Evgeny teased. 

Nicky looked wary about both of them after that, climbing into bed to sit beside Alex. Alex offered him his pacifier and Nicky settled down quickly, falling asleep across his lap. Alex played with his hair absently, feeling him relax even more. 

“If you want, we could watch him tomorrow.” Marcus offered. “If you want to have some free time.” 

Alex shook his head. “It’s ok. He won’t be little forever.” He had to leave Nicky for games, he wasn’t sure he wanted to do it more than he had to. 

Since they’d made it one day without the toddler having a breakdown, Alex was feeling undeservedly confident; he knew what to do to keep Nicky mostly content. It wasn’t hard, he just needed food and a midday nap. 

They made it through a second day too, courtesy of a Sunday afternoon game that didn’t interrupt nap time too much. Afterwards, it was only the short trip from New York to Pittsburgh. Nicky slept in Alex’s arms. 

They only had practice the next day. Alex was feeling cocky about his child-rearing abilities. He left Nicky with Tom and Andre on the ice after practice and went to shower. 

He was chatting with Evgeny as he dressed when Andre threw open the locker room door. “Is Nicky in here?!” Andre asked half-frantically. 

“What? No. You lose him!?” Alex asked. Andre looked like he might cry, his cheeks flushed and eyes wet.. “What happened?”

“We were collecting pucks! He was on the bench and when I turned around, he was gone!” Andre said. 

Alex followed Andre back out towards the rink to start looking; behind him he could hear Evgeny alerting the rest of the team. 

Fuck. Fuck, Alex lost Nicky. They lost Nicky. Nicky was little and vulnerable and he needed them and they’d let him down. Fuck. 

Andre was crying, a little. “I’m sorry.” 

“You go that way, I go this way.” Alex decided, pushing him gently in the direction of another hallway. 

The arena was big, with so many rooms and doors and small spaces a child could fit. So many places Nicky could get stuck or hurt himself. Alex felt sick at the thought. 

Brooks was the one who found him, emerging from the laundry room with a screaming child after almost ten minutes of searching. “He’s fine, he’s fine.” Brooks said, passing him over to Alex. “He’s scared but he’s fine.” 

Nicky was inconsolable, even in Alex’s arms. He was saying something, but it was either Swedish or totally incomprehensible. 

“Bunny’s lost.” Andre said, looking at Alex. “He’s- that’s what he’s saying. Bunny’s lost.” 

Alex groaned. 

“We can go look.” Tom volunteered quickly. “Ask him where he’s at.” 

Andre tried, but Nicky didn’t seem to cooperate. 

“He said he went down.” Andre said slowly, confused. “I-I’m not sure what that means.” 

“We’ll figure it out.” Tom said. “C’mon.” 

A couple other guys went to go look for Bunny, leaving Alex with Nick, who was disintegrating into despair at the loss of his stuffie. 

“It’s ok.” Alex murmured, rocking him. “It’s ok.” 

Nicky sobbed harder, his whole body shaking with the effort. 

“Let’s go sit down.” TJ decided quietly. 

They returned to the locker room. Nicky continued to meltdown, sliding out of Alex’s arms and onto the floor in front of his stall. A few lingering teammates, fresh from the shower, gave them a wide berth. 

“Lyla lost her doll at the zoo and I thought she’d never stop crying.” TJ offered. “She cried herself to sleep for two nights, it was horrible.”

“Suppose to go nap after this, but…” Alex trailed off. 

“Nicky, you want your blanket?” TJ asked gently. 

“Nooooo!” He cried, face down on the floor. “Bunny? Bunny, pease!”

Alex held out the pacifier, but Nicky swatted it out of his hand. Alex went to pick it up and Nicky somehow got louder, wrapping his arms around Alex’s ankle to keep him from leaving. 

“Nicky…” Alex sighed. “It’s ok. You’re tired, we have to go nap.” Whatever Nicky said was pleading but Swedish, so Alex couldn’t follow it. 

If Alex thought the previous meltdowns had been bad, they were nothing compared to the loss of Bunny; Nicky wailed like his whole family had been murdered. 

It was the longest 15 minutes of Alex’s life before the locker room door opened at Andre and Tom entered, holding Bunny up triumphantly. 

“Thank god.” Alex said. 

Nicky didn’t even say thank you when Andre offered it to him, instead pressing it to his face as the sobbing finally started to die down. Nicky was still facedown on the floor, hiccuping tearfully into the stuffed animal a few minutes later. Alex scooped him up and he didn’t protest. 

“Oh, Nicky...that note wasn’t about you, was it?” Alex said tenderly as he brushed his hair back and wiped away tears. 

Nicky whimpered, cuddling close to his chest. He was shaking and exhausted. He fell asleep on the bus, Bunny wrapped up in his arms. 

“Where was Bunny?” Alex asked. 

“Down an air vent in the laundry room. It got left open.” Tom held up his phone to show a picture of the bunny at the bottom of a metal chute. 

“Thank you.”

“No problem. It’s my fault he wandered off, I just thought he would stay on the bench.” Tom admitted. 

“Guess not.” Alex adjusted Nicky and he whimpered. “Poor Nicky…” he kissed his forehead. 

Even when he woke up, Nicky was still quiet and clingy; it must’ve scared him, getting lost. 

Alex couldn’t put him down for anything; he went through the buffet line with Nicky on his hip, trying to load his plate without dropping anything. 

“You want me to take him?” Marcus offered, circling back to the line after he’d set his plate down. 

Nicky tightened his grip. “No.” He whispered. 

Alex rubbed his back. “It’s ok. He’s fine.” He assured Jojo. 

Even the promise of dessert couldn’t coax Nicky away from Alex. The blond spent dinner sitting in Alex’s lap, making no attempts to escape. Alex thought he would’ve liked that, but mostly it made him sad to see Nicky so scared. 

The hotel was adjacent to a city park with playground equipment and swings, but when the boys tried to get Nicky interested, he refused. 

“It’ll be fun.” Andre said, trying to be gentle. “C’mon, let’s go play.” 

Nicky’s eyes welled up with tears and he pressed his face to Alex’s chest, sobbing weakly. 

“Oh, Nicky…” Alex murmured. 

“I’m so sorry.” Andre said. “I didn’t think it would upset him.”

“It’s ok. Just having a hard day, I think.” 

Nicky didn’t let go of Alex at dinner, didn’t try to push the elevator buttons, and didn’t once try to get down. Alex turned down invitations to play video games in Evgeny’s room to take Nicky back to their room. 

“You ok?” He asked, sitting down on the bed.

“...no.” Nicky whispered. 

One little word gutted Alex. “You sad?” He guessed. “Was it scary to get lost?”

“Uh huh.” Nicky nodded, sniffling. “Scawy.” 

“Why didn’t you stay with Burkie and Wilso?” 

He thought Nicky wasn’t going to answer, but after a long pause, he did. “For ‘ou.” 

“Looking for me?” Alex clarified. 

“Ja.” Nicky nodded. 

“Oh, Nicky...I didn’t leave, was gonna come back. Always gonna come back for you.” He promised. 

Nicky looked up, sucking his thumb. “A’ways?”

“Always. Forever.” Alex promised. Even if this happened more frequently, even if Nicky was the worst toddler ever, Alex was sticking around. He couldn’t imagine doing something differently. 

Nicky rested his head on Alex’s chest, falling asleep. 

When Alex went to bed a couple hours later, he made sure to tuck him in and keep him close, just in case. 

When Alex woke in the morning, his blankets had been stolen away. 

He blinked, squinting at an adult-sized head of messy blond curls. 

“Hey.” He grinned, relieved. “You’re back.”

Nicky groaned, covering his face. “Fuck.” 

“You ok?”

“S’like a hangover.” Nicky pulled his pillow over his face. “Ugh.” 

“I’ll get you Advil.” Alex decided. 

Nicky took the medicine and curled up, the stuffed bunny still tangled in the covers with him. Alex rubbed his back. 

Nicky dozed in and out for a little while before squinting up at Alex, looking more or less awake. “Where…” he cleared his throat, voice a touch rough. “Where are we?”

“You don’t remember?” 

“I remember...we won. And…” he trailed off. “I...I don’t know. I turned little.”

“Yeah. We’re in Pittsburgh. Playing tonight.”

“Fuck.” Nicky pulled the pillow back over his face. 

Alex couldn’t help but smile. “You could miss, rest.”

“I can play.” Nicky said quickly. “It’s just...it’s like...jet lag and a hangover mixed together. I’ll be fine.”

“I know.” 

“I’m sorry.” Nicky said into the pillow. “I know...I know I’m not...I wasn’t the best baby.”

Alex snorted at that delicate understatement. “If you had naps and food, you were good.” He paused. “Like usual.”

Nicky swatted at him blindly, laughing despite himself. “Fuck you. Was it...was it bad?”

“Just...no. Yeah, but...better if I knew what to do.” Alex went quiet. “You got lost yesterday. Do you remember?”

“Uh...no. I remember being really scared but I don’t know why. It’s like...it’s like trying to remember dream.” He explained. “It’s...I thought I remembered, but it’s...far away.” 

“Just checking.”

Nicky was at morning skate, despite looking like death warmed over, despite throwing up in the bathroom before heading out to the ice. 

He looked bad enough that no one really teased him yet, which was a plus. Alex wasn’t sure Nicky needed to be regaled with tales about his toddler antics; at least not until he recovered a bit. 

“You ok?” Marcus asked after practice, handing a cold washcloth to Nicky. Nicky groaned, nodding. 

“Yeah.” 

“Uh huh.” Marcus said skeptically. “Sure.”

The boys apparently decided if Nicky could make it through practice, he could handle some fond teasing. 

“Somebody show Papa the video of him playing soccer and falling.” Tom said as he got dressed. 

“What about video of him crying about not pet fish?” Evgeny asked, looking delighted. 

Alex had a particularly cute video of Nicky playing with Bunny, but he knew better than to open his mouth. 

“What about-“

“What about you don’t.” Nicky interrupted, slightly hoarse still. “And I don’t make you do drills an extra hour.”

That silenced them; Nicky didn’t usually threaten to use his authority. 

“You ok, papa?” Andre asked, lowering his voice. 

Nicky swallowed, not looking up. “M’fine.” 

The bus ride back to the hotel was subdued and Alex and Marcus helped steer Nicky upstairs, where he collapsed into bed and went almost immediately to sleep. 

He was less squinty when he woke up. 

“Better?” Alex asked. 

“Yeah.” Nicky nodded. “Still...hungover, but not so bad.” 

Alex nodded. There was a pause, a silence, that didn’t feel natural. They’d known each other long enough, been together long enough, that Alex knew Nicky was trying to think of what to say, of how to explain. 

“You wanna talk about it now?” Alex asked gently. 

“No.” Nicky said, giving a tired wry grin. “But we probably should.” 

Alex laughed. “You say no a lot, when you’re little.” He said. 

Nicky ducked his head, cheeks flushing. “Sorry.”

Alex kissed his forehead, letting him hide a little bit. “It’s ok.” He kissed him again. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Nicky said, a bit too quickly. 

“Nothing?” 

“I mean...not nothing.” Nicky admitted softly. “But it’s not wrong, I just…” he trailed off again. 

Alex stroked his hand over his arm. “Nicky…” He prompted. 

“Sorry.” Nicky scooted even closer. “I just...I just...I want to know what...what we’re...if we’re…” He took a breath. “I love you. And...and I want to be with you. Forever.” 

Alex tilted his chin up to kiss him. “I love you.” He assured him. “Want to be with you forever too.” 

Nicky kissed him back fervently, clinging to him. “Good.” He whispered. 

Alex chuckled. “Yeah. Even though you were a brat.” He teased. 

Nicky giggled. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok. Hard to be mad when you’re so cute.” Nicky laughed harder. “Did you know you were gonna change?”

“I...I wasn’t sure. I hoped not, but...yeah.” He wrinkled his nose. “I’m sorry.” He added again. 

“Next time, you tell me?”

“Yeah.” 

“Has it happened before?” They’d been together for a couple years and Alex had only just found out, but he also didn’t see Nicky sometimes over the summer. He tried to remember if Nicky had ever just stopped texting him when they were apart. 

“Two summers ago.” Nicky admitted. “For a few days.” 

Alex nodded. 

“You don’t have to deal with it.” Nicky added quickly. “And it doesn’t happen a lot-“

“It’s ok. It’s ok.” Alex interrupted. “Hard at first, but...easy when I know what to do. I don’t mind.”

“You don’t?”

“No, never.” Alex promised. “It’s...if someone has to take care of you, I want to do it.” 

Nicky looked pleased by that answer, smiling a bit bashfully and looking down. “Thanks.” 

The won in overtime and Nicky scored in the shootout. Alex whooped loudly from the bench and Nicky laughed at him. 

“So fucking good, Backy!” Alex said, shaking him when he got back to the bench. “So good!” 

The boys wanted to go out afterwards, to celebrate; the boys probably would’ve wanted to go out to mourn if they lost, too. But Nicky looked thoroughly exhausted and even if he wasn’t going to have a meltdown about it, Alex thought he needed some rest. 

Nicky was tired enough that he didn’t protest. 

He curled up with his head on Alex’s chest, and arm draped around him. 

“What about Bunny?” Alex asked impulsively. 

Nicky blushed. “I’ve had that since I was a baby.” He didn’t look up to make eye contact. “I used to take it everywhere.” 

“Bunny got lost yesterday too.” Alex informed him, smiling as Nicky reached for the bunny as though to check it was still all in one piece. “Thought you’d never get over it.” 

Nicky smoothed the toy’s fur and smiled. “I’m sorry.”

“Should’ve known better than let Wilso and Burkie watch you.” 

Nicky’s eyebrows shot you. “You what?” He asked, looking deeply skeptical. “They’re children.” 

“Bigger kids. I was gone just to shower.” Alex Hughes him tight. “Scared me when you were lost.”

Nicky looked up. “Why?”

“Worried...you trusted me and I let you get lost.” Alex admitted. “Thought...thought if something happened, you’d be mad.” 

“I was ok.” Physically, he'd been ok, but Alex still ached to think about how frightened he’d been afterwards, how unlike himself. 

“I know, I just…” Alex kissed the top of his head. “Don’t wanna lose you.” 

“Thanks.” Nicky said, eyes closing.

“Sleep, Nicky.” Alex murmured. “Don’t want you too cranky.” He couldn’t help but tease. 

Nicky swatted at him and almost missed. “Shhh.” He said, smiling as he fell asleep.


End file.
